In a major victory for Democrats seeking control of the Senate, Democrat Roy Cooper has won North Carolina’s Senate contest, AP News projects, defeating Republican candidate Michael Whatley, who was backed by President Donald Trump.
The 69-year-old former two-term governor capitalized on his statewide name recognition to secure strong support from independent voters, centering his campaign on high food and energy expenses as approval ratings for Trump dropped.
Entering Tuesday’s vote, Republicans maintained a 53-47 Senate majority, leaving Democrats needing to net four seats to assume majority control.
Cooper is the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from North Carolina in 18 years, ending a streak of five consecutive Republican victories in the state’s Senate races.
Cooper will succeed Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who emerged as one of Trump’s most outspoken GOP critics after the two clashed over the “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
Tillis, first elected in 2014, announced his retirement in June 2025 and has since focused his criticism on a range of administration policies and officials, including the Iran war and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Gaining control of Congress would provide Democrats a way to rebuff Trump’s agenda over his term's final two years.
This struggle is occurring largely in states and districts Trump won easily in the past.
Key Senate races are underway in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas, alongside scattered House battles nationwide.
Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chair with no prior history in elective office, appeared alongside Trump throughout his campaign in North Carolina.
In 2024, Trump endorsed Whatley to replace Ronna McDaniel as RNC chair.
Alongside co-chair Lara Trump, Trump's daughter-in-law, Whatley directed an election integrity campaign designed to mobilize 100,000 Republican volunteers and attorneys in pivotal battleground states to observe polling during the 2024 presidential election.
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